Hello, I'm heading out to the Sundance Festival in a couple weekends and I'm trying to find some available restaurants. I saw that Cena in the Chateaux at Silver Lake is a new Italian place but can't find any reviews on the food yet. From the menu, the prices seem reasonable (compared to other restaurants in the area). If you've eaten here I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Thanks!

http://the-chateaux.com/dining

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Cena
7815 Royal St, Park City, UT 84060

I just saw these yesterday at Santa Clara and I bought one for $15. Oooooh they are good. I'm going to buy another can or two before they are gone because they are probably a seasonal product.

I have yet to try them because the box I bought was filled with macarons that were completely shattered to smithereens. When I finally get a chance to return these, I'm going to open the box in the store to check on their condition!

I went to Guido's tonight. The place is tiny and the walls are covered in photos of celebs and landscapes. As soon as we sat down, we had 4 small plates of food on our table. For AR$100, we got a 4 course meal, including wine, water, and coffee. For the first course, we had some good antipastos like pizza, polenta pizza, caponata, tomato/zucchini/mozzerela salad, and fennel salad. Pasta course was a veggie risotto that was OK and a mushroom orrchietti (little ears) pasta that was excellent. Meat course was a butterflied pork loin w/ a rich hollandaise style sauce and fries.

The first wine they brought us was a 2009 malbec that was not good (the grapes must have been harvested 6 months ago and it showed). I asked for a Postale Cab for the second bottle and it was much better. I'm not sure how many bottles you get with your meal, but other tables seemed to get different wines so that is why I asked for these other bottles (I have a feeling they brought us the crappiest wine first, while giving the locals better wines).

Overall, 8/10. Dinner takes 2.5 hrs although some other tables seemed to get through the meal much more quickly. We had to wait a while between courses, which seems to be the norm in BA.

I just went to 647 last night (my first night in town) and I'd give it a 7/10.

When we entered, we were asking each other if we thought it smelled like cat pee. Our table was in the very back of the restaurant and there were scented candles all over to try to mask that funk I suppose. Besides my group of 10 people, there were only about 3-4 other tables filled. I had the goat sweetbreads and the ojo de bife. The sweetbreads were good - rich and minerally and went well with the accompaniments. The ribeye was very tender and juicy and I enjoyed it, although some friends who ordered it said it was too cold and tough. Mine was lukewarm but I figured it was due to the medium rareness of the meat. My friends liked their lamb and I tried a little quail and it was a little tough but the spinach stuffing and blue cheese potatoes and polenta were very tasty. We ordered a malbec and a cab sauv for about 75 pesos each and today I saw them in a store for around 48 pesos.

I tried this cheese again and have decided it is terrible and a waste of money. I melted it with some rolled grilled zucchini but the overwhelming saltiness and pungency of the cheese was too much for me. I wish I knew how this cheese is used because it makes no sense to me.

I bought a wedge of topo cheese at a local store not really knowing anything about it - I bought it because it was made with raw milk so I was intrigued. It is a semi-hard Portuguese cheese and it is fairly pungent and salty, with a sour tang/kick to it.

I'm not sure how to use this cheese and online searches did not yield anything. Has anyone eaten this cheese and have any recipes or serving suggestions? Thank you.

Here is a photo of the brand I bought (but I bought a wedge not a full round)
http://hgcimports.com/content/view/10...

Thanks, I'll keep them in mind for next year!

My friend in Seattle said she got baileys flavored cupcakes with Guiness frosting and now I want one! Does anyone know where to get something like this around Sunnyvale? Thanks.

And how did you feel after the meal? I remember I was quite thirsty after a meal there, probably from MSG?

Keep in mind that Fallafel Drive In closes at 5pm.

Dia de Pesca is of a similar vein to FDI in regards to the casual outdoor seating. They have good fish tacos and only a few blocks from FDI at 55 N Bascom Ave.

I haven't been to Aqui or John's XLNT Foods so I can't help you there.

I'm going there tonight with a group of friends for my girlfriend's birthday, and was wondering if anyone has been here yet. Any dishes that we should definitely order?

An apple horseradish cream sauce goes awesome with the smoked trout. I got the recipe from a Secrets of the CIA cookbook. I don't have it with me but basically whip up some heavy cream with some horseradish in it, and fold in grated granny smith apple. There may be a little lemon juice in it too. The sweet, hot, and creamy sauce is a perfect complement to the smoky fish.

Are these rieslings dry or off-dry? Thanks!

You can also freeze it in an ice cube tray or shot glasses, so you have some wine to add to sauces and whatnot at a later time.

I did the quinto quarto meal last fall. very good and the wine pairing is wirth getting too. here are pix from the meal!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrick_...

Thai Pepper in Sunnyvale has good Thai food and good portions too. I only go there for lunch so I can't comment on the dinner menu, but hopefully it is the same quality if not better.
103 E Fremont Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 739-7717

Is this place open yet?

Yes, please never put it in the dishwasher again! Also, never let a knife soak in water. Buy a honing steel and use it every couple of uses to keep it sharp.

To all, thank you for your recommendations. Unfortunately, my group was pressed for time so we chose to stop at a couple wineries closer to Highway 50. We first stopped at Sogno. They have 15-20 wines to taste. Their wines were so-so, with their temperanillo being my top pick. We also stopped at Madrona and they had a dozen or so wines to taste and were better. Their Quintet, Syrah, and Syrah/Cab blend were quite good. The group I was with was a bachelor party and they gave the bachelor a fairly expensive bottle of cab on the house!

I should have posted this earlier but didn't think about it until now. I am heading up to S. Lake Tahoe tomorrow and wanted to stop in Fair Play on the way up for some wine tasting. If anyone's been there and have any recommendations for where to go, please comment! Thanks.

Brigitte's closed almost a year ago, which is too bad because it was very close to my house and I had been meaning to try it!

To the OP, when you say you moved to South San Jose, do you mean Almaden or slightly more north than that?

Just Breakfast on Monterey Hwy serves up greasy, old fashioned fare. Mmmm, biscuits & gravy!

Sam's BBQ is great, and Andy's in Santa Clara is pretty good too.

I'm starting to see a pattern w/ Zimmern. He seems to prefer the stranger foods derived from animals. But then he seems to get hung up on vegetarian products like stinky tofu, durian, and horchata.

I'd rather eat durian than rotten, fetid shredded beef in Morocco!

I just drank a bottle of my first pinotage a few weeks ago, it was from J Winery (Healdsburg, CA). It was a really bold and heavy wine. I really enjoyed it. It would stand up to BBQ food or just by itself.

Opolo is not a 'new brand', it's been around for at least a few years. I'm a member of their wine club but I have not tried their pinot noir. I have a shipment due soon but I suspect they are holding off on shipping during the summer heat.

If you are in the south bay, Alexander's Steakhouse has real Japanese and American Wagyu beef there. My friend just went there and ordered a Japanese ribeye. He was in heaven.

A quick Googling...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine

Fries w/ fresh cheese and gravy. Sounds tasty! And healthy too :)

Here are the menus that I could find:
I Tapas $19.95 http://www.paloaltodowntown.com/images/ITAPASPRIXFIXEDMENUFORAUGUST07.jpg
Junnoon $29.95 http://www.paloaltodowntown.com/documents/JunnoonDineDowtownmenu.doc
3 Seasons $29.95 reg/$17.95 veg http://www.paloaltodowntown.com/images/PA3SEASONSMONDAYPRIXFIXEDDINNER.jpg
Vero $24.95 http://www.veroristorante.com/events.html
Mantra $30 reg/$25 veg http://www.mantrapaloalto.com/events/...

Bistro Maxine's website says they are closed on Mondays, so I'm not sure if they are really participating in this promo.

Palo Alto is having a promo on Mondays in August, where several restaurants are offering prix fixe menus.

I am planning to hit up one of the restaurants next Monday but I'm not sure which one to choose. If anyone has been to one of the participating restaurants and had the prix fixe menu, please share your experience with us!

The text below is from: http://www.paloaltodowntown.com/whats_happening.php

Plan on dining downtown on Mondays in August to take advantage of the prix fixe menus at these participating restaurants.

Bella Luna www.bellaluna.org
Bistro Maxine www.bistromaxine.com
I Tapas & Wine Bar www.itapaspaloalto.com
Junnoon www.junnoon.com
Lavanda www.lavandarestaurant.com
Mantra Restaurant www.mantrapaloalto.com
Three Seasons www.threeseasonsrestaurant.com
Vero Ristorante www.veroristorante.com
Zucca European www.zuccarestaurants.com

* prix fixe prices vary/please check each restaurant for pricing *
* reservations recommended *
* please remember to visit your favorite restaurants on all the other nights of the week
as some are not open on Mondays*

Menara is a Moroccan restaurant near the SJ airport that has belly dancers to entertain you while you eat. You sit on big pillows and eat communal dishes with your hands. The food is not stellar but it is an entertaining place IMO.